The novel is presented as ‘Documents relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae’ dated 1869. The case is one of murder. The documents are: first, some statements of witnesses to the crime; second, the perpetrator’s own extensive written account of events; third, medical reports on the victims; fourth, an extract from the memoir of the prison service doctor, a self-professed expert in criminal anthropology; and finally, a compilation of newspaper reports on the trial.
The brief witness statements tell of a violent murder in the Highland village of Culdie, committed by seventeen-year-old crofter Roderick Macrae. Quickly apprehended, Roddy uses his time in gaol awaiting trial to pen at length his version of how events unfolded and led him down the path of his bloody project. The medical reports deal quickly with the post-mortem examinations, and at more length with the murderer’s state of mind. This is his only defence – temporary insanity - and the trial reports show how that goes.
The format works very well. The prose while reflecting 19th century dialect and phraseology, is never difficult to read and moves at a modern-day pace. Rural highland life is vividly portrayed, and the complex character of Roddy Macrae emerges gradually through his narrative. But does his account tell the truth? Does it accord with the evidence?
It is an engaging,
engrossing even, read; and though there is no dispute whodunnit, the whys and
wherefores maintain interest to the end. An unusual, clever, and moving piece
of fiction that reads as anything but.
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